Contrasting U.S. GoldMining (NASDAQ:USGO) & Austin Gold (NYSE:AUST)

Austin Gold (NYSE:AUST) and U.S. GoldMining (NASDAQ:USGO) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Austin Gold and U.S. GoldMining, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Austin Gold	0	0	0	0	0.00
U.S. GoldMining	0	0	1	0	3.00

U.S. GoldMining has a consensus target price of $24.00, suggesting a potential upside of 136.69%. Given U.S. GoldMining’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe U.S. GoldMining is more favorable than Austin Gold.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Austin Gold and U.S. GoldMining”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Austin Gold	N/A	N/A	-$4.00 million	($0.31)	-7.71
U.S. GoldMining	N/A	N/A	-$9.36 million	N/A	N/A

Risk and Volatility

Austin Gold has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, U.S. GoldMining has a beta of 2.17, meaning that its share price is 117% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

62.1% of Austin Gold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.5% of U.S. GoldMining shares are held by institutional investors. 70.7% of Austin Gold shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of U.S. GoldMining shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Austin Gold and U.S. GoldMining’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Austin Gold	N/A	-37.85%	-36.54%
U.S. GoldMining	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

U.S. GoldMining beats Austin Gold on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Austin Gold

Austin Gold Corp., a gold exploration company, focuses on the acquisition, exploration, and evaluation of mineral property interests in Nevada. The company holds interest in Kelly Creek Project located in the Kelly Creek Basin, in southeastern Humboldt County, Nevada; Fourmile Basin Project that comprises various unpatented lode mining claims covering approximately 6410 acres located in Nye County; the Lone Mountain Project consisting of various unpatented lode mining and patented mining claims located near Lone Mountain in Elko County. It also holds interest in the Miller Project consisting various unpatented lode mining claims located in Elko County in Nevada. Austin Gold Corp. was incorporated in 2020 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About U.S. GoldMining

U.S. GoldMining Inc., an exploration stage company, engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties in the United States. The company's primary asset is the 100%-owned Whistler exploration property, a gold-copper exploration project comprising mining claims totaling 53,700 acres located in Yentna Mining District, Alaska. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is based in Vancouver, Canada. U.S. GoldMining Inc. operates as a subsidiary of GoldMining Inc.